A fifth of private landlords planning to buy property

Many private landlords are planning to increase the size of their property portfolio in the coming months, a new study had found.

Statistics compiled by buy-to-let lender Paragon Mortgages show that 20 per cent of landlords would definitely purchase additional investment properties during 2009.

The opportunity to pick up a bargain following the recent decline in house prices was one of the main motivating factors, as was the continuing belief that property remains a better long-term option than other types of investment.

However, 48 per cent of those looking to add to their investments said that strong yields had influenced their decision to buy.

Paragon's figures showed that the average yield achieved by private landlords in the opening quarter of 2009 was 6.2 per cent, compared with 6.1 per cent in the final three months of last year.

The findings were published as real estate services company Savills suggested that people with the ability to buy residential property now could benefit from "significant"financial returns.